Just before I started my master's program, a friend of mine joked, "Soon you'll be Dr. Pierce" and I laughed but immediately made a face and shook my head. A doctorate? I'm the least academic person I know. Yet there I was starting a master's.

Before I can answer why I've decided to do a PhD, I need to first answer: Why writing?

I don’t think writers ever aim to imitate their heroes, but pull inspiration from them. I needed American Pyscho to tell me it was okay to write what I was writing. That’s the weird thing about creative writing—can it be taught? Can it be graded? No, not really. I accepted that going into my masters program.